Pastor’s Reflection for October 16, 2016

Each year, October is designated as Respect Life Month by our Catholic Bishops. We are called to respect life from the moment of conception to natural death. We see attacks on life in our society. We have legalized abortion – violence in our streets and the push to legalize euthanasia. It has been 43 years since Roe vs Wade legalized the taking of human life in our country. I cannot believe that we have allowed this to continue. This has become something about which we have become complacent. It is amazing how people will speak up about the killings we see on our televisions but there is hardly a sound concerning the killing of a defenseless child in the womb of its mother. Mother Teresa stated that abortion kills twice. It kills the body of the baby and it kills the conscience of the mother. Listen to the jargon of our politicians and others. Their mantra is “I am personally opposed to abortion but I will not advance that view through law.” What nonsense and illogical thinking. Fr. Thomas Petri, Dean of the Dominican House of Studies in Washington said that this is a human issue, not a religious issue. Pope John Paul II wrote in “Evangelium Vitae” that “laws which legitimize the direct killing of innocent human beings through abortion or euthanasia are in complete opposition to the inviolable right to life proper to every individual; they thus deny the equality of everyone before the law.” It is true that there is a right to life and that its existence is not an object of religious faith. “All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” – this comes not from the Catechism but from the Declaration of Independence. So abortion is contrary to the Declaration of Independence, violating a person’s (the unborn) his fundamental right. It is not a religious matter (yes killing is a moral issue) and those who oppose it are not trying to impose their faith on others. To kill an innocent person is a crime in our civil laws. Any citizen would not give fellow citizens the right to kill innocent people. It is time for this country to repent of this abomination and ask for God’s merciful love. For those who have had abortions, we believe that the child is in the embrace of God and that God forgives all who repent and turn to Him for His mercy.

I wish to thank the Affirming Life Committee for all they do in promoting and protecting human life. May God bless you for your efforts.

I ask that you look at the section of the adoration coverage needed in the bulletin. There are time slots that need coverage. We do need people in the chapel when we have exposition of the Eucharist. If you are able to help, please call the rectory to sign up for a time slot.

I will be available for confession this week on Monday, October 17, from 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.